Sidney Lambe
2011-01-22 19:33:21 UTC
A Course In Miracles
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MIRACLES
It is crucial to say first that this is a required course. Only
the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that
you establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect
what to take when. It is just because you are not ready to do
what you should elect to do that time exists at all. (You will
see miracles through your hands through me. You should begin
each day with the prayer "Help me to perform whatever miracles
you want of me today.")
1. The first thing to remember about miracles is that there is
no order of difficulty among them. One is not harder or bigger
than another. They are all the same.
2. Miracles do not matter. They are quite unimportant.
3. They occur naturally as an expression of love. The real
miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense,
everything that comes from love is a miracle.
a. This explains the first point related to the lack of order.
ALL expressions of love are maximal.
b. This is why the "thing in itself" does not matter. The only
thing that matters is the Source, and this is far beyond human
evaluation.
(Questions and Answers relating to the first three points.)
QUESTION (Helen): Would you regard this communication as a kind
of miracle? ANSWER: There is nothing special or surprising about
this at all. The ONE thing that happened was the Universal
Miracle which was the experience of intense love that you have
felt. (Don't get embarrassed by the idea of love. Embarrassment
is only a form of fear, and actually a particularly dangerous
form because it reflects egocentricity. Do not feel guilty about
the fact that you are doubting this. Just re-read them and
their truth will come to you. I love you, and I am not afraid
or embarrassed or doubtful. MY strength will support you, so
don't worry, and leave the rest to me. But when you see Bill, be
SURE you tell him how much he helped you through by giving you
the right message, and don't bother with worrying about how you
received it. That doesn't matter either. You were just afraid.)
(Helen fearful in taxi about a communication which related to
Dave's healing and Jonathan's hernia. She thought it would be
safer to dissociate the two. Instructions were: refer to point 1
and re-read NOW.)
4. All miracles mean Life, and God is the giver of Life. He will
direct you VERY specifically.
(Plan ahead is good advice in this world, where you should and
must control and direct where you have accepted responsibility.
But the Universal Plan is in more appropriate hands. You will
know all you need to know. Make NO attempts to plan ahead in
this respect.)
5. Miracles are habits, and should be involuntary. They should
not be under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles
are usually misguided, and this will make the talent useless.
6. Miracles are natural. When they do NOT occur something has
gone wrong.
7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary
first.
8. Miracles are a form of healing. They supply a lack, and are
performed by those who have more for those who have less.
9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of
love, which are ALWAYS miraculous in the true sense, the
exchange reverses the physical laws.
10. A miracle is a reversal of the physical order because it
brings more love to the giver AND the receiver. (A miracle is
misunderstood when it is regarded as a spectacle.)
11. The use of miracles as a spectacle to INDUCE belief is
wrong. They are really used for and by believers. (Helen has
some fear about 11 and doubt about 9 and 10. Probably doubt
induced by fear of 11). (When you say, "If you want me to I
will" please add "and if you DON'T want me to I won't." This
is the RIGHT use of inhibition. There has to be SOME control
over learning for channelizing purposes. Remember retroactive
inhibition which should be easy enough for you. Sometimes the
new learning is the more important, and HAS to inhibit the old.
It's a form of correction.)
12. Prayer is the medium of miracles. Prayer is the natural
communication of the Created with the Creator. Through prayer,
love is received, and through miracles love is expressed.
12a. Miracles are thought-creations. Thought can create
lower-order or higher-order realities. This is the basic
distinction between intellectualization and thinking. One
creates the physical, and the other the spiritual, and we
believe in what we create.
13. A miracle is a beginning and an ending. It thus abolishes
time. It is always an affirmation of re-birth, which seems to
go back, but really goes forward. It undoes the past in the
present, and thus releases the future.
14. Miracles attest to truth. They are convincing because they
arise from conviction. Without conviction, they deteriorate into
magic, which is mindless, and therefore destructive, or rather,
the uncreative use of Mind.
15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. (God created time
so that man could use it creatively, and convince himself of
his own ability to create. Time is a teaching device, and a
means to an end. It will cease when it is no longer useful for
facilitating learning.) (SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Notes on this
course have to be taken only under good learning conditions. The
same goes for review periods. I will tell you when, but REMEMBER
TO ASK.)
16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating that it
is more blessed to give than to receive. They simultaneously
increase the reserve strength of the giver, and supply the lack
of strength in the receiver. BE VERY CAREFUL in interpreting
this. INSTRUCTIONS: The purpose of this course is integration.
I told you that you will not be able to use it right until you
have taken it. As long as your identification vacillates, (and
Bill's is weak) you cannot accept the gift that belongs to you.
You are still vacillating between recognizing the gift and
throwing it away. Bill regards himself as too weak to accept it.
You do not yet know its healing power. After you have passed the
course, you will accept it and keep it and use it. That is the
final exam, which you will have no trouble in passing. Midterm
marks are not entered on the permanent record.
17. Miracles are the absence of the body. They are sudden shifts
into invisibility, away from lower order reality. That is why
they heal.
18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service that one
soul can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor
as yourself. The doer recognizes his own and his neighbor's
inestimable value simultaneously. (This is why no areas of
hatred can be retained. If you retain them, your own value is
no longer inestimable, because you are evaluating it as X or
infinity minus that amount. This is meaningless mathematically,
which uses the term "inestimable" only in the very literal
sense. Pun intended especially for Bill, (who originally did not
get it.) Intended as a special sign of love.)
19. Miracles rest on the law and order of eternity, not of time.
20. Miracles are an industrial necessity. Industry depends
on cooperation, and cooperation depends on miracles. (see
/acim_page_ 4)
21. Miracles are cobwebs of iron. They unite human frailty
to the strength of God. (Helen considered changing "iron" to
"steel". CORRECTION: No. Steel would NOT be a better word. Steel
is very useful but it would have to be tempered by fire. Iron
is the raw material. The point of miracles is that they replace
fire, thus making it unnecessary.) (continued below)
22. Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness.
Through miracles, man accepts God's forgiveness by extending
it to others. The second step is inherent in the first,
because light cannot tolerate darkness. Light dispels darkness
automatically, by definition. EXPLANATORY INSTRUCTIONS: Miracles
are associated with fear only because of the fallacy that
darkness can hide. Man believes that what he cannot see does
not exist, and his physical eyes cannot see in the dark. This
is a very primitive solution, and has led to a denial of the
spiritual eye, which always depends on light. Remember the
Biblical injunction: "May I never forget that THINE eye is ever
upon me, beholding the evil and the good."
There are two stages, one lower and one higher, which are
involved in the escape from darkness:
1) The recognition that darkness CANNOT hide. This usually does
entail fear.
2) The recognition that there is nothing you WANT to hide, even
if you could. This brings escape from fear.
Corrections re point 21 (cobwebs of iron.) "This is upside
down as stated. The part about 'uniting human frailty with
the strength of God' is all right, but the explanation stops
too soon. If iron is the 'raw material', cobwebs can't become
the iron. That is only the way it seems, because cobwebs are
associated with the frailty and iron with strength. If you look
carefully at the phrasing, you will see it is reversed (one
point already tells you that miracles reverse the physical or
lower order laws.)
The raw material, iron, is heavy but crude, and stands for the
body, which is a crude creation. The cobweb concept is closer to
how the body SHOULD be regarded, e., as an airy and temporary
home, which can just be blown away with a slight breeze.
Point 21 should read: "A miracle reawakens the awareness that
the spirit, and not the body, is the altar of Truth. This is the
recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle."
22a. A miracle rearranges the order of perception, and places
the levels in their true perspective. This heals at all levels,
because all sickness comes from confusing the levels.
(Tell Bill about the idea (which is still dim to Helen) that
the reason is not that you both distantiate, doubt, or cannot
believe. It is more of a reaction formation against a pull which
you both recognize is so intense that you are afraid that you
will be uprooted. But remember that a cobweb is really stronger
than the iron, if you see it properly. This fear is also why you
couldn't get the point straight.)
By the way, it is not true that you are both JUST SCRIBES. You
might remember that the Scribes were very wise and holy men and
are even sometimes spelled with a capital S. If you want to go
further, you might change the meaning of 'just' from 'merely' to
'honest', a term used in the Bible in association with 'might'
or 'strength.' Tell Bill you couldn't make that pun if the
original phrasing had been singular. (Helen aside about liking
'assumption of failure' more.) ANSWER: It was cuter, but this
one MEANS more. The REAL reason you don't like it is because it
refers to you in a VERY lofty position. This makes you nervous.)
CORRECTION: And don't lose sight of the emphasis on cooperation,
or the NOT SINGULAR. That point about "industrial necessity"
should read "corporate", referring to the body of Christ which
is a way of referring to the Church. But the Church of God is
only the sum of the souls he created, which IS the corporate
body of Christ. Correct to read: "A Miracle makes souls one in
God", and leave in the next part about cooperation.
FURTHER CORRECTION: "God" should read " Christ". The Father and
the Son are not identical, but you CAN say "Like Father, LIKE
Son."
(Remind Bill to get another notebook. I don't give up as easily
as HE does. If I could get YOU to listen, which was a miracle
in itself, I can get him to register. He should appreciate this
more than anyone else, having had some trouble with this problem
himself.)
"LORD HEAL ME" IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE PRAYER. This also means
"Lord atone for me," because the only thing man should pray for
is forgiveness. He has everything else.
Now take this personally, and listen to Divine logic:
If, when you have been forgiven, you have everything else, and
If you have been forgiven,
Then you HAVE everything else.
This happens to be the simplest of all propositions.
IF P then Q
P
Therefore, Q
The real question is, is P true. If you will review the
evidence, I think you will find this inescapable. I went on very
personal record to this effect, and I am the only completely
True Witness for God. You have every right to examine MY
credentials - in fact, I urge you to do so. You haven't read the
Bible in years.
SPECIAL EXPLANATORY NOTE: As soon as you (Helen and Bill) have
entered the second phase, you will be not only willing to enter
into communion, but will also understand peace and joy. Your
commitment is not yet total. That is why you still have more to
learn than to teach. When your equilibrium stabilizes, you can
teach AS MUCH as you learn. This will give you the proper sense
of balance. Meanwhile, remember that NO EFFORT IS WASTED. Unless
you remember this, you cannot avail yourself of MY efforts,
which are limitless.
(Have a good day.) Since only eternity is real, why not use
the illusion of time constructively? You might remember that
"underneath are the Everlasting Arms."
BIBLICAL QUOTATION: " If you are ashamed of me before men,
I will be ashamed of you before God." (Helen's question of
misquote.) is interpreted as a threat ONLY as long you remain in
the first step. (see middle of p. 3 for steps.) What it REALLY
means is that if you are ashamed of me (or embarrassed by love),
you will project and therefore make it impossible for me to
reach you. Make every effort you can NOT to do this. I will help
you as much as you will let me.
23. Miracles make time and tide wait for all men. They can heal
the sick and raise the dead because man himself made both death
and taxes, and can abolish both. Note: Tax also means "strain".
(One definition for miracles is: "That which, or one who, is
of surpassing excellence or merit.") (from Dictionary, third
definition.) YOU are a miracle. God creates only "that which, or
one who, is of surpassing excellence or merit". Man is capable
of this kind of creation, too, being in the image and likeness
of his own Creator. Anything else is only his own nightmare, and
does not exist. Only the Creations of Light are real.
23a. Miracles are a part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness
which, when completed, is the Atonement. This process works
all the time and in all dimensions of time. (example given of
Helen's report rewrite for Esther: Esther had hurt something you
loved, by writing a report you regarded as very bad. You atoned
for her by writing one in her name that was very good. Actually,
it was not your responsibility professionally to do this, but
because you DO love the Shield you recognized that in this case,
you ARE your brother's keeper. While you did not cancel Esther's
sin (later defined as "lack of love") you DID cancel out its
EFFECTS.
Someday I want to tell Esther that not only is she forgiven
but that the effects of all her sins are cancelled. This is
what I have already told you. When I can tell her, she will be
afraid for a long time, because she will remember many things,
consciously or unconsciously, including the Shield report, a
lack of love which you cancelled out in advance by a miracle of
devotion.
I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook
to begin. My Atonement was for the canceling out of all sins
(e., lack of love) which human beings could not otherwise
correct. That is what the Biblical statement "underneath are the
Everlasting Arms" means. (Helen explanation: This means that
He will backstop whenever human miracles will not suffice for
atonement purposes. However, it is perfectly clear that when
a person can atone by miracles, both giver and receiver are
atoning. It is better to atone this way because of the mutual
benefits involved.) "Inasmuch as you do it unto the least of
these, my children" really ends with "you do it unto yourself
and ME." The reason why YOU come before me is because I do not
need miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in
case YOU fail temporarily.
SPECIAL EXPLANATION: (In response to Helen request regarding
possible corrections.) Change the word "sin" to "absence of
love". Sin is a manmade word with threat connotations which
he made up himself. No REAL threat is involved anywhere. Just
because "nature abhors a vacuum," which is true enough, it does
NOT follow that "a vacuum is filled with hellfire." Nothing is
gained by frightening yourself, and it is very destructive.
Miracles need freedom from fear. Part of their Atonement value
involves just that. Note that the word "atone" really means
"undo."
The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything TO you.
(That is, to restore the awareness. Later clarification.) You
had everything when you were created, just as everyone did.
Having been restored to your original state, you naturally
become part of the Atonement yourself. You now share MY
inability to tolerate the lack of love in yourself and in
everyone else, and MUST join the GREAT CRUSADE to correct it.
The slogan for this Crusade is "Listen, Learn, and DO." This
means:
Listen to MY Voice, Learn to undo the error, and DO something to
correct it.
The first two are not enough. The real members of MY party are
ACTIVE workers.
The power to work Miracles BELONGS to you. I will create the
right opportunities for you to do them. But you must be ready
and willing to do them, since you are already able to. Doing
them will bring conviction in the ability. I repeat that you
will see Miracles through your hands through MINE. Conviction
really comes through accomplishment. Remember that ability is
the potential, Achievement is its expression, and Atonement is
the Purpose.
24. A miracle is a Universal Blessing from God through Me
to all My Brothers. EXPLANATION: You once said that souls
cannot rest until everyone has found salvation. This happens
to be true. It is the privilege of the forgiven to forgive.
The Disciples were officially and specifically told to heal
others, as Physicians of the Lord. They were also told to heal
themselves, and were promised that I would never leave them
or forsake them. Atonement is the natural profession of the
Children of God, because they have professed Me.
(ASIDE: Tell Bill that that is what Professor really means. As
an Assoc. Prof., he must become associated with My strength. As
an Asst. Prof., you must assist both him and Me. The Children
need both strength and help. You cannot help until you are
strong. The Everlasting Arms are your strength, and the Wisdom
of God is your help.)
"Heaven and Earth shall pass away" means that they will
not always exist as separate states. My Word, which is the
Resurrection and the Light, shall not pass away, because Life
is Eternal. YOU are the work of God, and His Work is wholly
loveable and wholly loving. This is how man MUST think of
himself in his heart, because this is what he IS. Add: "As a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he."
http://courseinmiracles.com/urtext/
---------------------------------------------------------------
What a bunch of utter GARBAGE. The Bible, which has spawned
over 30.000 officially-recognized denominations, and has been
used to justify mass murder and torture and the theft of entire
continents and cultural genocide, as well as the opposite, is
much clearer and more conprehensible than the above.
"Miracle" is a word that has been long defined, and very clearly.
So what you have here is either stupidity or deception. I've
read the entire document several times. I don't believe that it
is channeled. I think that it came from some who was addicted
to fundamentalist Christianity and just couldn't see past its
destructive, core concepts.
Please note, that if you read the Gospels, it will become very
evident to you that the teachings of Jesus and mainstream
Christianity, are very different things indeed.
The Truth can be stated simply and clearly in plain English.
If someone is trying to tell you that a garbled mess like the
above contains the literal Truth, you should laugh in their face
and walk away.
Here is a vastly superior document:
"The Nature of Personal Reality" by Jane Roberts.
It can be found in most public libraries and many bookstores.
Or at amazon or barns and noble or...
http://www.sethcenter.com
Sid
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MIRACLES
It is crucial to say first that this is a required course. Only
the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that
you establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect
what to take when. It is just because you are not ready to do
what you should elect to do that time exists at all. (You will
see miracles through your hands through me. You should begin
each day with the prayer "Help me to perform whatever miracles
you want of me today.")
1. The first thing to remember about miracles is that there is
no order of difficulty among them. One is not harder or bigger
than another. They are all the same.
2. Miracles do not matter. They are quite unimportant.
3. They occur naturally as an expression of love. The real
miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense,
everything that comes from love is a miracle.
a. This explains the first point related to the lack of order.
ALL expressions of love are maximal.
b. This is why the "thing in itself" does not matter. The only
thing that matters is the Source, and this is far beyond human
evaluation.
(Questions and Answers relating to the first three points.)
QUESTION (Helen): Would you regard this communication as a kind
of miracle? ANSWER: There is nothing special or surprising about
this at all. The ONE thing that happened was the Universal
Miracle which was the experience of intense love that you have
felt. (Don't get embarrassed by the idea of love. Embarrassment
is only a form of fear, and actually a particularly dangerous
form because it reflects egocentricity. Do not feel guilty about
the fact that you are doubting this. Just re-read them and
their truth will come to you. I love you, and I am not afraid
or embarrassed or doubtful. MY strength will support you, so
don't worry, and leave the rest to me. But when you see Bill, be
SURE you tell him how much he helped you through by giving you
the right message, and don't bother with worrying about how you
received it. That doesn't matter either. You were just afraid.)
(Helen fearful in taxi about a communication which related to
Dave's healing and Jonathan's hernia. She thought it would be
safer to dissociate the two. Instructions were: refer to point 1
and re-read NOW.)
4. All miracles mean Life, and God is the giver of Life. He will
direct you VERY specifically.
(Plan ahead is good advice in this world, where you should and
must control and direct where you have accepted responsibility.
But the Universal Plan is in more appropriate hands. You will
know all you need to know. Make NO attempts to plan ahead in
this respect.)
5. Miracles are habits, and should be involuntary. They should
not be under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles
are usually misguided, and this will make the talent useless.
6. Miracles are natural. When they do NOT occur something has
gone wrong.
7. Miracles are everyone's right, but purification is necessary
first.
8. Miracles are a form of healing. They supply a lack, and are
performed by those who have more for those who have less.
9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of
love, which are ALWAYS miraculous in the true sense, the
exchange reverses the physical laws.
10. A miracle is a reversal of the physical order because it
brings more love to the giver AND the receiver. (A miracle is
misunderstood when it is regarded as a spectacle.)
11. The use of miracles as a spectacle to INDUCE belief is
wrong. They are really used for and by believers. (Helen has
some fear about 11 and doubt about 9 and 10. Probably doubt
induced by fear of 11). (When you say, "If you want me to I
will" please add "and if you DON'T want me to I won't." This
is the RIGHT use of inhibition. There has to be SOME control
over learning for channelizing purposes. Remember retroactive
inhibition which should be easy enough for you. Sometimes the
new learning is the more important, and HAS to inhibit the old.
It's a form of correction.)
12. Prayer is the medium of miracles. Prayer is the natural
communication of the Created with the Creator. Through prayer,
love is received, and through miracles love is expressed.
12a. Miracles are thought-creations. Thought can create
lower-order or higher-order realities. This is the basic
distinction between intellectualization and thinking. One
creates the physical, and the other the spiritual, and we
believe in what we create.
13. A miracle is a beginning and an ending. It thus abolishes
time. It is always an affirmation of re-birth, which seems to
go back, but really goes forward. It undoes the past in the
present, and thus releases the future.
14. Miracles attest to truth. They are convincing because they
arise from conviction. Without conviction, they deteriorate into
magic, which is mindless, and therefore destructive, or rather,
the uncreative use of Mind.
15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. (God created time
so that man could use it creatively, and convince himself of
his own ability to create. Time is a teaching device, and a
means to an end. It will cease when it is no longer useful for
facilitating learning.) (SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Notes on this
course have to be taken only under good learning conditions. The
same goes for review periods. I will tell you when, but REMEMBER
TO ASK.)
16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating that it
is more blessed to give than to receive. They simultaneously
increase the reserve strength of the giver, and supply the lack
of strength in the receiver. BE VERY CAREFUL in interpreting
this. INSTRUCTIONS: The purpose of this course is integration.
I told you that you will not be able to use it right until you
have taken it. As long as your identification vacillates, (and
Bill's is weak) you cannot accept the gift that belongs to you.
You are still vacillating between recognizing the gift and
throwing it away. Bill regards himself as too weak to accept it.
You do not yet know its healing power. After you have passed the
course, you will accept it and keep it and use it. That is the
final exam, which you will have no trouble in passing. Midterm
marks are not entered on the permanent record.
17. Miracles are the absence of the body. They are sudden shifts
into invisibility, away from lower order reality. That is why
they heal.
18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service that one
soul can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor
as yourself. The doer recognizes his own and his neighbor's
inestimable value simultaneously. (This is why no areas of
hatred can be retained. If you retain them, your own value is
no longer inestimable, because you are evaluating it as X or
infinity minus that amount. This is meaningless mathematically,
which uses the term "inestimable" only in the very literal
sense. Pun intended especially for Bill, (who originally did not
get it.) Intended as a special sign of love.)
19. Miracles rest on the law and order of eternity, not of time.
20. Miracles are an industrial necessity. Industry depends
on cooperation, and cooperation depends on miracles. (see
/acim_page_ 4)
21. Miracles are cobwebs of iron. They unite human frailty
to the strength of God. (Helen considered changing "iron" to
"steel". CORRECTION: No. Steel would NOT be a better word. Steel
is very useful but it would have to be tempered by fire. Iron
is the raw material. The point of miracles is that they replace
fire, thus making it unnecessary.) (continued below)
22. Miracles are natural expressions of total forgiveness.
Through miracles, man accepts God's forgiveness by extending
it to others. The second step is inherent in the first,
because light cannot tolerate darkness. Light dispels darkness
automatically, by definition. EXPLANATORY INSTRUCTIONS: Miracles
are associated with fear only because of the fallacy that
darkness can hide. Man believes that what he cannot see does
not exist, and his physical eyes cannot see in the dark. This
is a very primitive solution, and has led to a denial of the
spiritual eye, which always depends on light. Remember the
Biblical injunction: "May I never forget that THINE eye is ever
upon me, beholding the evil and the good."
There are two stages, one lower and one higher, which are
involved in the escape from darkness:
1) The recognition that darkness CANNOT hide. This usually does
entail fear.
2) The recognition that there is nothing you WANT to hide, even
if you could. This brings escape from fear.
Corrections re point 21 (cobwebs of iron.) "This is upside
down as stated. The part about 'uniting human frailty with
the strength of God' is all right, but the explanation stops
too soon. If iron is the 'raw material', cobwebs can't become
the iron. That is only the way it seems, because cobwebs are
associated with the frailty and iron with strength. If you look
carefully at the phrasing, you will see it is reversed (one
point already tells you that miracles reverse the physical or
lower order laws.)
The raw material, iron, is heavy but crude, and stands for the
body, which is a crude creation. The cobweb concept is closer to
how the body SHOULD be regarded, e., as an airy and temporary
home, which can just be blown away with a slight breeze.
Point 21 should read: "A miracle reawakens the awareness that
the spirit, and not the body, is the altar of Truth. This is the
recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle."
22a. A miracle rearranges the order of perception, and places
the levels in their true perspective. This heals at all levels,
because all sickness comes from confusing the levels.
(Tell Bill about the idea (which is still dim to Helen) that
the reason is not that you both distantiate, doubt, or cannot
believe. It is more of a reaction formation against a pull which
you both recognize is so intense that you are afraid that you
will be uprooted. But remember that a cobweb is really stronger
than the iron, if you see it properly. This fear is also why you
couldn't get the point straight.)
By the way, it is not true that you are both JUST SCRIBES. You
might remember that the Scribes were very wise and holy men and
are even sometimes spelled with a capital S. If you want to go
further, you might change the meaning of 'just' from 'merely' to
'honest', a term used in the Bible in association with 'might'
or 'strength.' Tell Bill you couldn't make that pun if the
original phrasing had been singular. (Helen aside about liking
'assumption of failure' more.) ANSWER: It was cuter, but this
one MEANS more. The REAL reason you don't like it is because it
refers to you in a VERY lofty position. This makes you nervous.)
CORRECTION: And don't lose sight of the emphasis on cooperation,
or the NOT SINGULAR. That point about "industrial necessity"
should read "corporate", referring to the body of Christ which
is a way of referring to the Church. But the Church of God is
only the sum of the souls he created, which IS the corporate
body of Christ. Correct to read: "A Miracle makes souls one in
God", and leave in the next part about cooperation.
FURTHER CORRECTION: "God" should read " Christ". The Father and
the Son are not identical, but you CAN say "Like Father, LIKE
Son."
(Remind Bill to get another notebook. I don't give up as easily
as HE does. If I could get YOU to listen, which was a miracle
in itself, I can get him to register. He should appreciate this
more than anyone else, having had some trouble with this problem
himself.)
"LORD HEAL ME" IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE PRAYER. This also means
"Lord atone for me," because the only thing man should pray for
is forgiveness. He has everything else.
Now take this personally, and listen to Divine logic:
If, when you have been forgiven, you have everything else, and
If you have been forgiven,
Then you HAVE everything else.
This happens to be the simplest of all propositions.
IF P then Q
P
Therefore, Q
The real question is, is P true. If you will review the
evidence, I think you will find this inescapable. I went on very
personal record to this effect, and I am the only completely
True Witness for God. You have every right to examine MY
credentials - in fact, I urge you to do so. You haven't read the
Bible in years.
SPECIAL EXPLANATORY NOTE: As soon as you (Helen and Bill) have
entered the second phase, you will be not only willing to enter
into communion, but will also understand peace and joy. Your
commitment is not yet total. That is why you still have more to
learn than to teach. When your equilibrium stabilizes, you can
teach AS MUCH as you learn. This will give you the proper sense
of balance. Meanwhile, remember that NO EFFORT IS WASTED. Unless
you remember this, you cannot avail yourself of MY efforts,
which are limitless.
(Have a good day.) Since only eternity is real, why not use
the illusion of time constructively? You might remember that
"underneath are the Everlasting Arms."
BIBLICAL QUOTATION: " If you are ashamed of me before men,
I will be ashamed of you before God." (Helen's question of
misquote.) is interpreted as a threat ONLY as long you remain in
the first step. (see middle of p. 3 for steps.) What it REALLY
means is that if you are ashamed of me (or embarrassed by love),
you will project and therefore make it impossible for me to
reach you. Make every effort you can NOT to do this. I will help
you as much as you will let me.
23. Miracles make time and tide wait for all men. They can heal
the sick and raise the dead because man himself made both death
and taxes, and can abolish both. Note: Tax also means "strain".
(One definition for miracles is: "That which, or one who, is
of surpassing excellence or merit.") (from Dictionary, third
definition.) YOU are a miracle. God creates only "that which, or
one who, is of surpassing excellence or merit". Man is capable
of this kind of creation, too, being in the image and likeness
of his own Creator. Anything else is only his own nightmare, and
does not exist. Only the Creations of Light are real.
23a. Miracles are a part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness
which, when completed, is the Atonement. This process works
all the time and in all dimensions of time. (example given of
Helen's report rewrite for Esther: Esther had hurt something you
loved, by writing a report you regarded as very bad. You atoned
for her by writing one in her name that was very good. Actually,
it was not your responsibility professionally to do this, but
because you DO love the Shield you recognized that in this case,
you ARE your brother's keeper. While you did not cancel Esther's
sin (later defined as "lack of love") you DID cancel out its
EFFECTS.
Someday I want to tell Esther that not only is she forgiven
but that the effects of all her sins are cancelled. This is
what I have already told you. When I can tell her, she will be
afraid for a long time, because she will remember many things,
consciously or unconsciously, including the Shield report, a
lack of love which you cancelled out in advance by a miracle of
devotion.
I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook
to begin. My Atonement was for the canceling out of all sins
(e., lack of love) which human beings could not otherwise
correct. That is what the Biblical statement "underneath are the
Everlasting Arms" means. (Helen explanation: This means that
He will backstop whenever human miracles will not suffice for
atonement purposes. However, it is perfectly clear that when
a person can atone by miracles, both giver and receiver are
atoning. It is better to atone this way because of the mutual
benefits involved.) "Inasmuch as you do it unto the least of
these, my children" really ends with "you do it unto yourself
and ME." The reason why YOU come before me is because I do not
need miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in
case YOU fail temporarily.
SPECIAL EXPLANATION: (In response to Helen request regarding
possible corrections.) Change the word "sin" to "absence of
love". Sin is a manmade word with threat connotations which
he made up himself. No REAL threat is involved anywhere. Just
because "nature abhors a vacuum," which is true enough, it does
NOT follow that "a vacuum is filled with hellfire." Nothing is
gained by frightening yourself, and it is very destructive.
Miracles need freedom from fear. Part of their Atonement value
involves just that. Note that the word "atone" really means
"undo."
The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything TO you.
(That is, to restore the awareness. Later clarification.) You
had everything when you were created, just as everyone did.
Having been restored to your original state, you naturally
become part of the Atonement yourself. You now share MY
inability to tolerate the lack of love in yourself and in
everyone else, and MUST join the GREAT CRUSADE to correct it.
The slogan for this Crusade is "Listen, Learn, and DO." This
means:
Listen to MY Voice, Learn to undo the error, and DO something to
correct it.
The first two are not enough. The real members of MY party are
ACTIVE workers.
The power to work Miracles BELONGS to you. I will create the
right opportunities for you to do them. But you must be ready
and willing to do them, since you are already able to. Doing
them will bring conviction in the ability. I repeat that you
will see Miracles through your hands through MINE. Conviction
really comes through accomplishment. Remember that ability is
the potential, Achievement is its expression, and Atonement is
the Purpose.
24. A miracle is a Universal Blessing from God through Me
to all My Brothers. EXPLANATION: You once said that souls
cannot rest until everyone has found salvation. This happens
to be true. It is the privilege of the forgiven to forgive.
The Disciples were officially and specifically told to heal
others, as Physicians of the Lord. They were also told to heal
themselves, and were promised that I would never leave them
or forsake them. Atonement is the natural profession of the
Children of God, because they have professed Me.
(ASIDE: Tell Bill that that is what Professor really means. As
an Assoc. Prof., he must become associated with My strength. As
an Asst. Prof., you must assist both him and Me. The Children
need both strength and help. You cannot help until you are
strong. The Everlasting Arms are your strength, and the Wisdom
of God is your help.)
"Heaven and Earth shall pass away" means that they will
not always exist as separate states. My Word, which is the
Resurrection and the Light, shall not pass away, because Life
is Eternal. YOU are the work of God, and His Work is wholly
loveable and wholly loving. This is how man MUST think of
himself in his heart, because this is what he IS. Add: "As a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he."
http://courseinmiracles.com/urtext/
---------------------------------------------------------------
What a bunch of utter GARBAGE. The Bible, which has spawned
over 30.000 officially-recognized denominations, and has been
used to justify mass murder and torture and the theft of entire
continents and cultural genocide, as well as the opposite, is
much clearer and more conprehensible than the above.
"Miracle" is a word that has been long defined, and very clearly.
So what you have here is either stupidity or deception. I've
read the entire document several times. I don't believe that it
is channeled. I think that it came from some who was addicted
to fundamentalist Christianity and just couldn't see past its
destructive, core concepts.
Please note, that if you read the Gospels, it will become very
evident to you that the teachings of Jesus and mainstream
Christianity, are very different things indeed.
The Truth can be stated simply and clearly in plain English.
If someone is trying to tell you that a garbled mess like the
above contains the literal Truth, you should laugh in their face
and walk away.
Here is a vastly superior document:
"The Nature of Personal Reality" by Jane Roberts.
It can be found in most public libraries and many bookstores.
Or at amazon or barns and noble or...
http://www.sethcenter.com
Sid
--
I am a Magickal Being
My Second Spell is Innocence
http://tinyurl.com/7vs9zb
usenet4444 (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I am a Magickal Being
My Second Spell is Innocence
http://tinyurl.com/7vs9zb
usenet4444 (AT) gmail (DOT) com